1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling device for high tension electrical equipment, like condensers or inverters, that are installed in vehicles provided with a generator motor that rotates the vehicle's drive shaft, such as in hybrid and electric vehicles, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cooling devices, such as the vehicular electrical equipment cooling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 11-195437 for example, are conventionally known that cool a battery or other such high tension electrical equipment by operating a cooling fan that takes in air from inside the vehicle via ducts that have intake ports communicating with the inside of the vehicle, and using this interior air from the vehicle to cool the high tension electrical equipment such as a battery.
However, the temperature of the battery or other high tension electrical equipment can increase considerably in conventional cooling devices such as described above. Namely, the temperature inside the vehicle can become very high when the vehicle has been stopped for a long period of time during the summer, for example. Since the duct intake ports communicate with the interior of the vehicle, this high-temperature air inside the vehicle can enter into and flow through the ducts even when the cooling fan is off, potentially increasing the temperature of the equipment excessively.
In response to this type of problem, such approaches have been considered as increasing the length of the duct, to prevent the high-temperature air inside the vehicle from reaching the high tension electrical equipment when the cooling fan is off. However, this type of cooling device leads to an increase in the size and weight of the device, increasing costs required for forming its structure.